Five more Northeast Georgia girls soccer teams advanced to the second round of the Georgia High School Association's state playoffs on Thursday.
In Class 6A, Gainesville, Jackson County and Habersham Central all won. Gainesville (12-6) knocked off South Paulding 1-0 thanks to a goal from Christa Gibbons. Habersham Central (14-2) only needed one half of play to mercy rule Paulding County 10-0, and Jackson County (13-5-1) shut out Newnan 2-0.
In Class 4A, Cherokee Bluff's Bristol Kersh scored seven goals to lead the Lady Bears (16-4) past Hampton 10-0 at Yonah Field. Haley Hunter, Carson DeMars, and Samantha Diaz each scored one goal. Johnson (12-4-1) fell behind in the first half, 2-0, after giving up a long shot and a hard shot that blasted past the Johnson goalkeeper. The Lady Knights got on the board off a goal from Liz Rivera in the second half but couldn't muster enough in the 2-1 loss.
In Class 2A, East Jackson (6-6-2) knocked off Callaway, 6-0, to punch its ticket to the Sweet 16.
GIRLS FIRST ROUND SOCCER PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD, Thursday, April 18
CLASS 6A
Gainesville 1, South Paulding 0
Jackson County 2, Newnan 0
Habersham Central 10, Paulding County 0
CLASS 4A
Cherokee Bluff 10, Hampton 0
Pace Academy 2, Johnson 1
CLASS 2A
East Jackson 6, Callaway 0
